Maggie's Farm

VDH begins his piece on Obama's career thus far:

I have believed in the power of the goddess Nemesis (�dispenser of dues�) ever since I was introduced to the concept as a teenager studying classics, especially in the texts of Hesiod, Herodotus, and Sophocles.

Some of you know her also as a variant of eastern Karma, or the folk notion of �what comes around, goes around�, or the now common �ain�t payback a bitch�? We all agree on the symptoms: overweening success and surfeit (koris) lead to hubris (gratuitous arrogance), which in turn promotes destructive behavior (at�), that at last calls you to the attention of divine Nemesis�who ensures your ruin.  At Rhamnous on the Attic coast there is a beautiful temple to the goddess, proof of her ubiquity and power.

Read the whole good thing.